Communications regulator Icasa has moved to quash conspiracy theories spreading through social media that next-generation 5G networks pose a health risk to consumers.
“The authority confirms that type-approved electronic communications facilities provided in the country adhere to the prescribed standards and that there is no evidence that they pose any health risks” to citizens, Icasa said in a statement on Monday.
It said it is following “debates and pronouncements that purport to link the spread of Covid-19 to the deployment of 5G technologies”.
“The authority wishes to state that the development of standards for … 5G is currently under way at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and that Icasa contributes and participates in these processes.
“South Africa adheres to the standards prescribed by both the ITU and the World Health Organisation, with the former’s focus being primarily for the regulation of radio frequency electromagnetic field emissions.”
This week, British cabinet secretary Michael Gove described conspiracy theories linking the roll-out of 5G networks to the spread of Covid-19 as “dangerous nonsense”.
Gove’s remarks came after videos showing cellular towers in the UK on fire were posted on social media, with suggestions that they’d been torched, though there was no evidence of this. — (c) 2020 NewsCentral Media